If you have a Kinect, you can use a variety of voice commands with your Xbox One that turn it on, navigate the interface, skype your friends, and even record your gameplay.

Unlike Cortana, the Xbox One requires specific commands–you can’t just talk to your Xbox using natural speech. Voice commands also require a Kinect. You can’t simply issue voice commands through a standard headset, as you can with a PlayStation 4. If you have a Kinect, though, and you’re willing to learn a few specific commands, they can be pretty useful.

The Basics

All commands begin with the word “Xbox.” This activates the Kinect, which starts listening for the rest of your command. If you just say “Xbox” without saying an additional command, you’ll see a screen suggesting a few basic commands to get started.

Other than that, you can say:

Xbox, On: This is the only command that works while your Xbox One is off. It must be in Instant On mode and the Kinect must be plugged in. If both of these are true, you can just say “Xbox, On” to turn your Xbox One on.

Xbox: If you just say “Xbox” without saying an additional command, you’ll see a screen suggesting a few basic commands to get started.

More Shortcuts: Say “More shortcuts” on the screen that appears after you say “Xbox” and you’ll see a more complete list of voice commands you can use. This is a good quick reference if you ever need a refresher.

Stop Listening: While your Xbox is already listening, you can say “Stop Listening” and it will stop listening for commands.

Xbox, Select: Say “Xbox, Select” to see a list of contextual voice commands that work on the current screen. Some options in the current screen will then be highlighted in green. You can say the name of an option to activate it. For example, in the screenshot below, you can say “Home” to go to the home tab, “Resume Halo: The Master Chief Collection” to resume playing the game, or “Page down” to go down a page, among other commands. If your Xbox stops listening, you’ll have to say “Xbox” or “Xbox, Select” before saying a command that appears on the current screen.

Getting Around

These basic commands will help you get around the Xbox One’s interface:

Xbox, Go Home: Go to the Xbox dashboard.

Xbox, Show Menu: Open the context menu.

Xbox, Go Back: Go back to the previous screen.

Xbox, Show Notifications: Open the notification panel.

Xbox, Help: Open the Help application.

Xbox, Bing [Search]: Search Bing for whatever you say.

Xbox, Use a Code: Open the Kinect camera so you can hold up a QR code. These are often used to redeem content on the Xbox store.

Xbox, Invite: Open the Party panel so you can form a party to play games with your friends.

Xbox, Send a Message: Start sending a message to a friend:

Media Playback Controls

The Xbox offers a long list of voice commands for controlling video and music playback. These work across the entire Xbox experience, including in apps like Netflix.

Xbox, Play: Start playback.

Xbox, Stop: Stop playback.

Xbox, Pause: Pause playback.

Xbox, Fast Forward: Fast forward.

Xbox, Rewind: Rewind.

Xbox, Faster: Increase the playback speed.

Xbox, Slower: Decrease the playback speed.

Xbox, Skip Forward: Skip forward in the current music or video.

Xbox, Skip Backward: Skip backward in the current music or video .

Xbox, Next Song: Go to the next song.

Xbox, Previous Song: Go to the previous song.

Xbox, Play Music: Open the Groove Music app to start playing music. You’ll be prompted to download the Groove Music app if you haven’t already.

TV-Related Options

These options will only work if you’ve set up your Xbox to communicate with your TV through Kinect or a separate IR blaster. To do so, open the OneGuide app and go through the setup process.

Xbox, Volume Up: Increase TV volume.

Xbox, Volume Down: Decrease TV volume.

Xbox, Mute: Mute your TV.

Xbox, Unmute: Unmute your TV.

These options will only work if you’ve set up your Xbox One to watch TV from a cable box, satellite box, or USB TV tuner. Open the OneGuide app to set this up.

Xbox, Watch TV or Xbox, Go to OneGuide: Open the OneGuide app, allowing you to watch TV if you’ve set that up.

Xbox, Watch [Channel Name]: Open the OneGuide app and tune it to the channel you specify.

While these voice commands require a Kinect, Microsoft is working on Cortana integration that should be released at some point in 2016. Cortana will work with a headset as well as a Kinect, giving more Xbox One users access to voice controls.

Chris HoffmanChris Hoffman is Editor in Chief of How-To Geek. He's written about technology for nearly a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami's NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read more than 500 million times---and that's just here at How-To Geek. Read Full Bio »